Persistent Prioritized Prayer (Luke 11:1-14)
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Pattern Modeled (Verses 1-4)
The prayer is paternal. Christ commands us to call God our Father. This address calls us to a childlike reverence and trust with the reminder that He has become our Father through Christ. It brings to our minds and hearts the realities of adoption, being grafted into His family and reconciled to Him. This reminder is basic to all of our praying and gives us the confidence in His willingness to give us what we ask in faith.
The prayer is first a prayer of purity. It is not a prayer that His name be holy, since He is always holy, but that His name be seen as holy. God’s name is who He is: His character, His reputation, His identity. The first and primary thing Jesus is teaching us to pray is that God’s name be consecrated and set apart, that it be hallowed. This first request gives a sense of direction to the rest of our praying, preventing praying that centers around ourselves. In our fervent praying that His name be hallowed, we should also examine our lives to see what measures we are taking to ensure that His name is hallowed in our lives.
This prayer is also a prayer of province. When we pray that His Kingdom come we are praying for the rule and reign of Christ in every heart and life, we are praying for the expanse of the glory of Christ across the globe, and we are praying for the final return of Christ to claim His bride.
It is prayer for provision. In praying for daily bread, something that might seem temporal and worldly in light of the previous requests, our Lord is teaching is to acknowledge our entire dependence on God for the supply of all of our daily necessities. As our Father, He is concerned for the complete wellbeing of His children, including both physical and spiritual needs. While we are called to labor diligently and responsibly, not neglecting in any way our obligations, we are also commanded to depend entirely upon God for His provision.
It is a prayer for pardon. As long as we are outside of Christ, God is our judge. However, once the verdict “justified” has been declared, He no longer remains our judge, but adopts us as a loving Father, and we His beloved children. Those who know this forgiveness will be ready to forgive anyone of anything, always.
And it is a prayer for protection. While God does not lead us into temptation, ever, He does have the ability to guide us away from or around or even through temptation. That is what is meant in this final petition in the prayer.
– How are you carrying the name of Christ? In the way that you live and speak, are you hallowing His name or blaspheming it? In what ways?
– In what ways are you praying for the Kingdom to come in your life, in the lives of those around you, and among the nations? What would it look like for the Kingdom to come to a greater degree in your heart, your home, our church, our nation, and around the world?
– Do you know of any unwillingness in your heart to forgive anyone? Can you pray with a clean conscience that God would forgive you to the same degree that you forgive others?
Persistence Illustrated (verses 5-8)
The sleepy friend has shut his door, tucked his children into bed, gotten into bed himself, and is now unwilling to get out of bed. However, because of the shamelessly presumptuous persistence of the man at his door, he is persuaded. This continual, bold, and shameless petitioning is the pattern for our praying to God until He answers. Jesus is making this comparison in order to point out that God is always ready and willing to hear and answer, since He never slumbers or sleeps. Unlike this friend, we are not attempting to get God to do what He does not want to do, but asking Him to do what He has promised He will do.
– What are some of the promises in His Word that you can use as fuel for persistent prayer? What are some of the things in the Scriptures that God has promised to do for those that ask?
Promises Made and Priority Indicated (verses 9-13)
It is one thing to ask, but seeking requires greater commitment, and ceaselessly knocking demands even more effort. Jesus makes it clear that the effort is worth it, and assures us that God will answer prayer; God will give, God will reveal, and God will open. James 4:2 reminds us that while our Heavenly Father is always willing to grant our request, we often do not have because we refuse to ask. The greatest gift that God can give us is His Holy Spirit. If we have Him, we have all things; life, light, hope, and heaven. The promise made and the priority indicated leave us with no excuse not to ask, seek, and knock with ongoing diligence.
– What riches are you lacking because of failure to ask? Are you taking advantage of the privilege we have in our Heavenly Father who is ready to fulfill His promises to those who ask?